High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois | #8 - Cattle Rustlers (Part 1)

Episode Date: September 3, 2018

The darkness of Dwalinden is getting to us, and now something strange is happening to Sentry! Huge thanks to our sponsors D&D Beyond and Brilliant. D&D Beyond is the official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Use the code HIGHROLLING on D&D Beyond (http://bit.ly/dndbeyondhighrollers) to get 25% off all digital items (excluding the Legendary Bundle)! Brilliant.org helps you master concepts through fun, guided problem solving. D&D has a rich history of puzzles and problems, so boost your brain power with Brilliant! The first 200 users to follow our link (http://bit.ly/highrollersarebrilliant) will get 20% off an annual subscription! Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Visit betterhelp.com to learn more. That's betterhelp.com. Hello and welcome to High Rollers, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast in the world of Arois. Run by Dungeon Master Mark Shaw-Humes, with me, Tom, playing Keelakad Kalah, the bard slash cleric. I am Chris Trott. I'm playing Lucius Ewan, Elowin Elinastro. And I am a High Elf Sorcerer. Hi, I'm Rhiannon. I'm playing Lucius Ewing, and I am a high elf sorcerer.

Hi, I'm Rhiannon. I'm playing Sentry. I am a guardian paladin. Hi, I'm Katie. I'm playing Ayla, a wild elf barbarian. And I'm Kim. I'm playing Nova,

who is an air ganassi, and she is a hexblade warlock. Once again, a big thank you to our sponsors, D&D Beyond and Brilliant.org. Stick around for the end to hear more about those. All five players are now present as something strange happens to Century

in the darkness of Dwarven Den. Shall we start? Let's do a recap of last episode of High Rollers. At the very start of this campaign, the party were aboard a skyship called the Sparrowblade, which crashed into a dangerous part of the lowlands called the Bitterwood. The party met two acolytes of the goddess Siasca, who were traveling with a young girl called Vala. Also aboard the airship was a dwarven merchant called Arval Dagos. When the ship crashed, Arval was injured, and after several encounters with

local wild elves, the party eventually made their way to a town called Rosehall, about a week's travel north. In Rosehall, the party found themselves lodgings whilst their companions had to stay out in the barn as they had lost their coin in the crash. They had set to finding the funds to heal Arval's injuries and so had gone to explore a large chasm called Dwalinden in search of treasure as well as possible information about the mysterious race known as the Guardians. Descending into the chasm,

Quillik fell after the rope they used to climb down broke free, leaving them stranded. Down in the depths, they discovered a trio of buildings that had remained intact despite the destruction, but they were attacked by ghoulish creatures, as well as a feral Guardian that seemed to have some connection to the local smith. They found a few secure metal containers, one of which contained a magical hammer, as well as some quality steel ingots, and a set of wyvern hide. Clearing out more of the ghouls, the party still have a few buildings to clear, but must wait for the following day for Nova to regain her ability to levitate to get them out of the chasm.

And that is where we begin today's episode. The chasm of Dwalenden is dark. As you've ventured deeper and deeper into the chasm itself, the light from above has faded to almost nothing. The stench of the dead creatures that you had slain wafts through the chasm with nowhere to go, just lingers there. This putrid, decaying smell of rot assaults your senses.

Dust kind of clings in the air where it's been kicked up from the ground and the buildings and the various ruins. But you know that there are still two buildings left to explore that may contain treasures for you to find. The weariness of the battles begins to weigh on you for your muscles, quite heavy and sore, but otherwise you are fit to continue. Okay. Ayla seems to become more of herself after being a bit quiet for the last few sessions. The fight really stirred her up.

Yeah. I don't know where I am. Bottom of the castle. Am I still alive? Yes, you are still alive. I think I had to use most of your hit dice on the short rest. Yeah, I'm not looking... Great.

Fantastic. Yeah. I think everybody is kind of in a pretty beat up thing. Sentry, except Nova, who never takes damage, become the new Reynard. Sentry now has a new sort of like metallic bracer, which contains this fusion lance or some sort of laser weapon. You said lasers when you're here!

Out of character, I am describing the weapon. In character, there is no such thing. It's a heat beam. Heat beam, sure. It's a heat beam. Yeah, which you recovered, and have now Nova spent some time attaching to Century's frame. Yeah.

So, and yeah, you are left. There is the long, what appeared to be some sort of workhouse that the ghouls had come out of that you'd ambushed several ghouls from. But there was also a store further down that Sentry had scouted with Echo, which was called Urgot's Emporium. Yeah. And we looted the people. You've not been into either of these two buildings.

No, we looted the people. The ghouls had nothing on them. There were rations and stuff nearby. That was inside the workhouse. Yeah, I think Echo saw some bodies. He saw something like shining. Echo saw like weapons and things. Just like us.

Yeah, weird. Time vortex. Cool, I guess. To the longhouse! No, no, Nova. Nova. I need a moment, please. Okay. It's just the smell, and I'm very weak.

Four, five, six. A moment, what? I'm just calculating how long a moment is. What do you mean calculating? No, I'm just gonna keep going until you say the moments over. Please just stop just stop it I'm going to lie here and do this put my fingers in my ears I'm very nice pointy is by the way So Lucius sits on the cold stone ground

most of it is still these flat unusual unusual cobblestones. Dusty, but somewhat clean and free of debris. Down puts his fingers in his ears. You take out an embroidered handkerchief. You have your fingers in your ears. I take out an embroidered handkerchief and just put it over my face. And then put my fingers in my ears.

Do you like lie down? You just sat down like looking up. Just lying down flat. He just lies down completely. I can't do this anymore. I mean, if he's hoping for healing of any kind, I am completely out of power. I'm hoping for some sort of healing.

Oh, he can hear us. Muffles, yes. He's shouting quite loudly. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. I mean, is there anything else here? Can anyone hear anything? There might be some healing potions in the thing, in the longhouse. Well, I'm just thinking, if we just leave him here...

Oh, he's definitely going to die if we leave him here. Okay. Well, how about I take one ankle, you take the other? I only have one arm. Sentry, you could just lift his entire body. I can drag him along, it's fine. Yeah, ankles. I lift up one of Lucius' ankles.

Oh, get off me! You brute! He like kicks you a little bit. Stop it! We're just bringing you with us because you might die here on your own. You have to stretch my linen. Let's continue on, we can't leave you here. We've got to keep going.

I'm so weak, Sentry. It's not like I'm made of plant life. It's true. You might be a liability. That's why we're going to drag you. And metallic body. That's why we're going to drag you. You can just have a rest.

Why are you not all tired like me? I used to work out and everything. I'm so draining. You're not mentally worn out, Nova? No. We just killed ghouls. Yep. Did a very good job.

Yep. You guys, I don't understand. At the very least, Lucius, could we just get into one of these buildings? You'll be safer in there. How about the one with all the dead bodies? Perfect. How about the one with all the dead bodies in?

It will smell fantastic. Yeah. I'm going to keep the handkerchief on my face and just put my hand on Sentry's shoulder and lead the way. Lead the way. Throw him up. Sentry's unbelievable.

It's fine, don't worry. As the five of you draw closer to the workhouse, the smell is quite overpowering. There is... I use gust. Most of the stuff, yeah. If you use the cantrip gust to try and blow. Most of the stuff, yeah, if you use the cantrip gust to try and blow away some of the smell,

you send a scattering of what was probably a mixture of dust, decayed flesh, probably some bone dust as well of long dead remains. You just made it worse. Most of the bodies in here were bones.

They're mostly skeletal. You can see that a few things have survived, like very, very torn, tattered remnants of cloth and leather. The main thing which is causing the smell is there's probably, I'd say, four or five bodies that are in varying states of decay, one of which looks like, I mean, it's putrid. It's turned mostly to a thick, gooey mess. It's probably several months old.

One of them seems a bit more recent. Probably about a couple of weeks but it still stinks. Are they bloated? Yeah. Most of them are bloated. Have they been underwater? Not underwater necessarily but moisture certainly has gotten to them. They also look like they've been eaten. Most of them have parts of them missing.

Bite marks. Look like they've been shredded., entrails have been consumed. I'm going to cast Dancing Lights. Okay. But because I can't see, they're kind of like bouncing off walls and stuff. They're just kind of boom, boom, boom, like little things. Sometimes hitting the party. Well, they kind of just pass through people because they're just like illusory lights.

But you send them out everywhere, they kind of bounce off the walls, scatter around. A mini disco. And they cast this multicolored light all over this workhouse, of which you can see that there were once remnants of work tables, artisan tools, but most of them have either rotten away or just fallen into disrepair. There are, however, glimmers of methyl or equipment that you can see around. Looking around at a glance, you can see around um looking around at a glance you can see that there is at least one backpack uh that is near one of the more recently dead bodies that appears to

have some metal you see like a lantern hanging off its side um it seems to have a shovel sticking out of it maybe some other things built in um you also glance the tips of arrows like just the metal glinting off this this uh light which is kind of floating through the room um a quiver of arrows uh just buried under a lot of like these bodies and skeletal remains um you think that you'd probably need to actually like search through this however if you want to actually go through it thoroughly you're going to have to like pull bodies away and start actively. I know it's not going to help there. I would do so. Sentry, how are you for diseases?

Do you get them? Because if I go rooting through this... Well, Ayla and Nova, I'd like you to do two things. One, both of you can make investigation checks, and then you can both make constitution saving throws. 17 on the investigation. What did you get, Ayla? Nine.

Yep. Cocked. That's cocked, isn't it? Yeah. 13 for saving. Yeah, cocked. Apparently. Constitution.

Yes? Eight. Eight. Apparently, sorry, I have a passive investigation Of like 18 Is that a thing? Well you're not Actively searching

You just walked into the building Like I have passive investigation Of 12 Yeah Okay I just didn't know If that was a thing

I mean it would be If you were like Walking around But I'm assuming At this point Quill is just kind of Stood in the entryway Of the room

Powering Having just seen stuff And you're powering up So this check is what Let's you see That there are things Scattered around Okay I was just wondering What that was yeah uh so it's in passive investigation if you were walking down a corridor you'd probably spot that there would be traps and

stuff you know and things like that or like ways to disable them also there might be like you know you might walk into a room and notice a safe without having to make a check but here is because you're standing still you're not actively looking, which is why it works that way. So with the 17 investigation, Nova, you find, and with Ayla kind of assisting you, the two of you find the following. You find a collection of equipment,

which is scattered all around this workroom. It looks like it's from different bodies, from different time periods. But you find two climber's kits, three torches do you resell a lantern no wick torches pitch torches a crowbar or mundane gear shovel a long bow these are all magical, right? Yeah, they all cast levitate. 20 arrows in a quiver.

A leather quiver. On one of the bodies, which appears to be a wild elf, no tarn. It looks very similar to the ones that you fought out in the Bitterwood. One of these kind of more savage looking wild elves. Two scimitars. Curved blades. Cool. Curved swordsitars, curved blades. Cool.

Curved swords? Yeah, curved sword. Who'd have thought? Engraved with almost, you think, maybe animal bone for the hilt, which is then being wrapped in leather. Cool. And engraved.

Also tucked into his belt. Nova, you're the one that finds this for the 17 investigation. Tucked into the wild elf's belt. You see he looks like he has a dagger and a small sheath, but you notice that the metal, it reflects the light differently to everything else, and pulling it free, the metal is extremely, extremely shiny,

as in almost like a platinum effect. I don't think you would recognize what it is on sight, but yeah, it's not a normal-looking metal. It feels very light when you pick up the dagger. It's incredibly light as well. Cool. Very, very well made. Sweet.

Yep. That's what you find. What does everybody see? I got knives. Oh, the other thing, while you're going through the bodies, Nova, I mean, you're, like, pulling bodies apart and things like that with your hands. You get, like, kind of goo and stuff, and it does, like, pick it up a bit.

It nicks in your hands from climbing and things like that. It stings a little bit. You kind of wipe your hands off, and, yeah, it just kind of leaves you with, like, a stinging feeling in your hands. Cool. Oh, no. Smile. Oh, no. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. I'm so fat. Cool. Oh no. So I'm just going to turn around with my gore-covered hands

in the scimitars and just be like, I got knives! Just like gross nails. They're really nice knives. They're slightly longer than a knife. They'd probably be more akin to a short sword. Kind of good 24 to 30 inches long, curved blade.

Stabby. No, curved blade, like a cutting blade. Oh, okay. Do they come with scabbards? Put them away. Don't know. Stop it. You're getting goop everywhere. Oh, sorry. There's not

really much clear space in this room. Most of it is covered with gore um like entrails that have been pulled out of bodies or bones or dust um or just collapsed rock has all filled this room uh if you wanted to rest in here you would need to clear some space away by exerting some sort of effort so we need to wait until the next day then for... For my levitation. You don't have to. You could try and climb out. I mean, we've got two climbers' kits now. However, it's a 250-foot climb. Yeah.

We now have three climbers' kits. The first one basically was destroyed when all the rope and pitons broke. Only one of us needs to climb up and then cast the rope down. Yeah. Being on the outside, can I see, like, blood drag marks and things into the building? Yes.

Okay. Yes, very much so. Now, with your investigation and perception, yeah, you notice it's old, faded. The problem is here it seems like a lot of dust and debris falls down, which kind of obscures it. But these have definitely been dragged from various parts of this chasm, probably from the area that you climbed down from. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense.

Can we leave this now? I want to go check out the Emporium. The what? The Emporium. We know it's just going to be covered in bodies and whatnot. I don't know. Could be some other bits. Maybe more ghouls.

I mean, it's called Urgot's Emporium, and to me that sounds like potions. Sounds like more corpses with their stomachs hanging out it sounds like we could just send echo down there to find out that's true could do well i'll send echo out okay do you want to focus through his senses or are you just going to send him out okay so sensory shuts down and you you instill your uh senses into echo and send him hootling along um he kind of floats through the air. You see that the Emporium is another squat building like the blacksmith's. The doorway is certainly

no taller than five feet high. There are no real windows. They're again just these thin slits like they were in the blacksmith's with a small sign outside. You send him inside and there are stone shelves built into the walls like chiseled into the stone of the building itself. The shelves have collapsed or haveiseled into the stone of the building itself.

The shelves have collapsed or have been crushed through fallen parts of the roof. There is probably remnants of, like, you know, rotten wood or thing or linens, like very old, old, old linens that have just decayed into nothing. Echo looking around, you don't see much of anything it almost all looks completely ruined okay um you don't see any creatures you don't hear anything uh moving around in there it just looks like a ruined store okay um but yeah looking around you don't see any sign of uh

you certainly don't see a sign of a register or chests or anything like that. It all seems to be built into stone, and most of it seems to have collapsed. Okay. I'll tell that to you guys. So, yeah, it looks like it's in disrepair. There's not a whole lot in there from what Echo could see. Any bodies? No bodies. No bodies.

No bodies. Any living things? Not from what Echo could see, no. Can Echo see magic? Can Echo see magic? No. You would need to detect magic as a spell to see magic. Echo can just perceive normally. I think he can see in the dark.

That's about it. Does Echo have like a spotlight? No. But you could certainly like, maybe that's something you could invest magic or invest gold into making. You could give him some sort of ability to cast a light spell and then he'd be like a little spotlight.

How long ago in hours do you think the Guardian fight was? Oh, in hours, like less than an hour. Maybe like two hours because you had a short rest. I think I'm still concentrating Detect Magic. I think it lasts ten minutes, doesn't it? I mean, you could cast it as another ritual though. Because think it costs last ten minutes. Yeah

Yeah, it only takes you ten minutes, yeah You did a fight so Yeah, but well, I'm just sort of now um, yeah, I guess I could start doing a concentrating that to see if I can discover anything What do you think? So do you range you need to be looking in the building if you wanted to analyze that how far is the building from where we're currently at? not far, like 30, 40 feet it's like just down a street, it's almost like you guys are on a main street of a city or a town that has

most of it has collapsed in around it and most of the building's been crushed, but these few buildings are the surviving ones that you can actually access. There are other buildings but they've either been completely crushed by the chasm and the rock you know either crushed underneath something heavy or they've been crushed you know sideways um or they just look abandoned like looking in them there's just no sign that there's even anything left inside what's um what does ritual actually look like if i'm for 10 minutes what am i doing in those you'd be doing

things like it's up to you, like how your spells look I kind of leave to you guys, but the kind of things you might expect would be like, you know, laying out crystals and empowering them that you then hold up to look through, or it could be you just reciting a prayer. It depends on the spell casting and what you want it to be. It could just be you meditating for 10 minutes

to focus your inner mind's eye on a strange style. So it is something that I'd actively have to be doing constantly for those 10 minutes. You can do nothing else. It's not like I can just walk around with a hand to my forehead. You have to sit down and spend 10 minutes concentrating or doing something to prepare this ritual. Okay.

In that case, I will get down on one knee and put the hand over my eyes and just stay there for like 10 minutes. Okay. In that case I will get down on one knee and put the hand over my eyes and just stay there for like ten minutes. Okay. Yeah. Have you got a headache? What is it? I've got a migraine. Shut up. I've got some medication. Shut up.

Do you want me to hit him? I think he's got a headache, everybody. Maybe it's all the smells. Yeah, please. Oh! A swift backhand. What a headache everybody. Maybe it's all the smells. Ayla? Yeah? Yeah, please. Swift backhand. I'm leaving this anyway. Did you say there's no bad news? Anytime, anytime.

There's no bad news, no, but I think we're trying to figure out what's going on. It's best we just stick together for now in case there's... But the smell is unbelievable. The smell's been everywhere. Can I spend this time trying to just like clean the goop off my hands? Yeah.

Do you have water, like a canteen or something? I've got three days of rations, so does that include water? Yeah, you'd have like three days. I'll get you a bread. You'd have like a day's worth of water and you're kind of like doing that and then wiping off on some cloth, maybe either like a cloak or something like that or, you know, on your scarf if you don't have anything else, but you'll have to like wipe your hands clean.

Yeah, just stings. There is a faint stinging sensation. But for the time being, you feel okay. You should keep an eye on that. Yeah, I haven't had any vaccinations recently. What are those? They're like magic spells and potions that make you resistant to certain illnesses.

Is there anything to get rid of Birdie's headache? That sounds useful. No. No? Poor Birdie, look at him. Or you could just... Clasping his tiny Birdie brain. I mean, Ava, you were wading through the same stuff and you mean you've got like a...

You were wiping off like wounds from, you know, you know, gore from your hands as well, but... Yeah, but you are like a nature lady. I've got... You know what? you know what it is it's just years of learning to suck it up and get on with it exactly well i've got soft book hands that's very true compare my soft hands to your calloused i mean sure let's do that i'm just gonna walk away really quietly

so you have this conversation about 10 minutesilek, you feel the connection in your mind's eye. As you open your eyes, yeah, there is a... You look around your companions, you can see the faint magical war around Sentry, around the Howling Gale, Aayla's Hammer, around Tiangong. I feel like around my eyes, there's like a very, very faint purple sheen across them as well. So when you all look at Quilek, you can see this faint purple sheen.

He's doing things. Is my new dagger? I can see everything. Yeah, that's, where did you, was that in there? The wild elf. When Nova holds out the dagger, Quilek and Lucius,

you would both recognize it as aetherium alloy. So it is a dagger which has been, it's steel that has been infused with ethereum to make it lighter and and sharper and and tougher um it's quite it's expensive like it you know it's not like the same as making a magical weapon but it is generally used to create very expensive arms and armor um can i use a longbow uh don't see why not. If you're proficient with martial weapons. That right there is the finest alloy you'll ever see. Yes, Nova, that dagger, it's Ethereum.

It's the same thing. Have you still got the core? The Ethereum core? Yes, I do. It's made of the same stuff as that. Cool. Threadweight. Stabbed boom.

So the fact that you guys know what it is, because it's not magical, Ethereum alloy weapons have plus one to hit, but they don't get any bonuses to damage. So it has a plus one to hit They're also considerably lighter if you have a theory made armor It tends to be much much lighter And is generally better for you know being able to use your own natural agility to defend yourself as well as the physical armor So it benefits medium armor rather than heavy armor so it's not so i'm not saying any magic in it at all it's not magical it's just because the ethereum itself keeps its edge it makes it lighter easier to use so it means that you're better at it yeah yeah do i know that you have worked with ethereum

for you probably well i think you mentioned it yeah you've mentioned what the family does yeah the elanasto family does. Well, Lucius, do you know how much something like this would be worth? I mean, it's a very nice diagram. I could use it. I know how to use diagrams. Anybody can work out how much. If you want to work out how much something costs,

generally anybody who has a vague relevance or has a vague understanding, you can make an intelligence check. If any of you are proficient with Smith's tools, I will let you use your proficiency bonus okay well I guess I'm asking about it so I'll go for that 17 don't worry it's bad

anybody else making a check? no I don't know so yeah Lucius looking at that you would have a vague idea of how much these are worth ethereum, it depends on what weapon they're used to make. Obviously things like a longsword will be more expensive than a dagger because of the amount of Ethereum used.

Looking at that dagger, you'd estimate around 300 gold for that one dagger. Usually daddy gives them to me for free on birthdays and whatnot. But I've seen him sell some to a friend second hand for about 250 gold 250 go that second hand so I imagine maybe 300 I mean that on

its own is more gold than we were going to get from those other jobs is it well yes it was 200 lot is it yeah it's a bit yeah was 200. That's a lot, is it? Yeah, you can sell that. It's quite a bit, yes. Sell that. 250 gold is a lot of money, Lucius. Is it? Yes. Get a couple of shoes for that, I suppose. Just this alone will fix Arville's leg.

Exactly. Fix the leg, problem solved. Good to go. Maybe a cologne of some kind, but a very small bottle. What? What? What? 300 gold.

No. That's a lot of money to spend on a small bottle. Just to make yourself smell better. What is the point? In hybrid flowers, you get really potent smells. But 300 gold? They're exotic. I've bred hybrid flowers. That doesn't cost that much.

Well, the import costs and whatnot. And then the branding. You understand trade a little bit to your background as a messenger. Yeah. I mean if Lucius is spending 300 gold on cologne he's being ripped off really bad even for like expensive stuff. That is a lot of money. They said it's the only bottle in Eros. The only bottle? And what was it called, this? I think it's called, like, Fraudster or something, like, edgy, like that. It was called Fraudster? Yes.

Wow, on the nose. I love it. It's very underground, you know? Like, I'm a lowlander. Ah, I see. It's like the musty smell. Is that what it smelled like? I'm just going to let it go now. I've been told.

There's no point. It's like wild ale, roaming flowers that could kill you or whatnot. And then they had to fight them to squeeze the perfume. And they just called it fraudster. Yes. You know what? I could probably make you some of that. You know, being a wild elf and stuff.

You can. If you have 300 gold, I could probably make some. Well, I don't think you could. So you could have a constant supply of it. It's a very delicate art. We could make it out of the remains of that wild elf. They would. I wish i had that on me right now he was pretty splashy already we could just jar some of that right up i i could

i could help you out really as long as if you've got the funds then i can i can make that happen yes i have the funding did you even like the smell of it? Excellent. Oh, well, you know, it's an acquired taste, obviously. So no. That smell. It smelled a bit putrid, I'll be honest, but not as bad as this room. But it was expensive, so it had to be good. If it's highly valuable, it's got to be good, right? This conversation just echoes through the chasm.

That's the logic. I mean, you're just stood in darkness. Occasionally the lights have to be resummoned To provide light Around this horribly Wait that Hasn't been ten minutes Disgusting ring

You've done it You've done it No I know But has it been ten minutes Since I did that Yeah has he seen anything In the interior It's been a few minutes

But you are just stood In the middle of this Disgusting work Wasted so much time I wanted to go over Century's still just like Eyes closed Echoes like

Because I wanted to use The detect magic And walk emporium. Sentry's still just like, eyes closed, echoes like, woop woop woop woop woop woop woop woop woop. Because I wanted to use the detect magic and walk over to the emporium. Yeah, did you? Yeah. I just remembered what I was meant to do. So you're going to head your way over to the emporium. Yeah. Okay. Anybody going with Quill? I'll send Echo out with him.

So everybody's coming out. Okay, well I can't make a way. I want to not be in this room. Okay, so you're going to make your way there. Push me. Anybody over five feet has to crouch again to get into it. And you see pretty much what Echo saw, which is a ruined store, some sort of general store maybe. Ruined stone shelves, broken desk, not really much else.

Quilek, with your passive investigation because I wrote this down you actually notice that one of this stone part of the stone wall just where the counter would have been

behind it set into the like lowest part of the floor you think might be some sort of hidden like slidable stone out like possibly

like a safe or something like that and can I see any magic since I've got detect magic on? The safe is not magical, but whatever is inside your detect magic spell can't penetrate the safe. Hmm. Okay.

So it's just a thick safe. Okay. I reckon if we undercut the fraudster by at least three gold, that would then, you know, add market value and we'd be able to out the fraudster by at least three gold that would then you know add market value and we'd be able to outsell fraudster what are we still talking about this yes okay we'll pick up on this conversation over drinks later and i definitely think that it's a great business venture especially for people like you i think a lot of people like you are going to want it, and I can make that happen.

Absolutely. For gold. We'd have to call it something else, though. We can't call it fraud, though. Nova's going to look at Ayla and in real seriousness, completely serious, like, does that mean I need to scoop up more of that splashy wild elf group? No. It's fine.

Okay. Because I thought that's what we were going to sell. No, she knows about probably like seven minutes since cool cast a spell anyway I've already seen it down there. There's a safe so oh Down well then yeah when cool points out you can see that part of the stone wall Is ever so slightly raised from the rest of it and if anybody goes down you can just it basically slides it like rotates and reveals a metal safe. Combination. Some sort of like twisting

combination. Like a stone pattern of numbers. You're smart. It does, there is also a keyhole that looks like a key would also fit. Okay. Well, there might be a key around here. Hmm. Also, you could just try and figure out how to open it. I don't really, just because I know numbers doesn't know figure out how to open it

Just because I know numbers doesn't know I know how to do it Her goopy hands shouldn't really touch things I suggest we don't use acid to open this one Well the other option is this and I hold up the crowbar What about a heat beam? We could try that

Sophie also holds up her metal wrist with the bean laser. Not laser. That's terrifying. Maybe too big. Maybe too big. Yeah, make an investigation check. That was trash.

No. Five. So Ada begins, like, just throwing things to one side. Go see her somewhere, guys. I got this. She's, you know, broken ceramic urns, like pulling them apart. Yes, acid's gonna really... You probably spend like five minutes. The detect magic spell fades.

Okay. Can't find any... Nah, you're gonna have to bust it open. Sorry. You're the strong one. What, you want me to crowbar it? We have a crowbar. Well, look at my muscles and I point at my tiny, tiny...

That's true. I mean, there are no muscles. If you've been doing push-ups, Nova, I've noticed these in definition. Sentry does have a bit of a good tool to use here. I would like to see a scientific experiment and demonstration of this new fire beam. Wait, hang on, hang on. Didn't someone find a key? I feel like someone found a key. Maybe I'm going insane, but I'm sure a key was mentioned.

I'm going bird mad. Callback. Bird mad. Bird mad. No. I have no idea. Here's this funny thing about when you find stuff, you generally write it down.

I haven't written down Nova. And if you don't have it written down... Nova has no... You don't have it written down Nova has no You don't have it No note of it All I have is daddy's briefcase And disgusting rations I didn't write anything down In this episode

I have not written down anything about key Nope I was not here None of you have a key However But I'm gonna pat myself down Like my pockets

Like bags Can you roll an investigation check on yourself? I mean... Sentry, how about you test the beam like a tiny little, just a tiny burst of it, not on the safe, just see to aim it and maybe... Very true. Wait, wait, wait, doesn't this beam hurt you if you use it?

It does, but I've got... Well, hopefully there's not going gonna be any more enemies, right? We should be well, the enemy is yourself clearly Well The coldness damages her basically it takes her own body heat to fire this She's like a fridge. What was a fridge? Or a fire heater.

Oh, God. That requires cold energy to make hot energy. Daddy said something about it. He's very intelligent. Okay. So am I. Try, try. You want to try the beam?

Okay. I'll try and aim it. So, Ripley, you know to try the beam? Okay. Okay. So, Rip, you know from watching the Feral Guardian and with Nova's explanation, this is a pretty potent thing. You suspect it was probably used to like keep whole ingots, like it was kind of used to get almost like a forge. There's a possibility you can have finer control over it. Let's have you make a... Oh dear.

Nova did not install that mechanism. I think this is just going to be a straight up intelligence. There's a little cog inside. You just turned it up to full power. 11. Because this is based on you focusing it, being able to accurately aim it. No, let's say dex, actually. I'd say dexterity. Dex. Because this is about aim more than anything Sure You're trying to hit like the locked part and not the rest of the save

Okay So it's d20 plus dex modifier Thirteen My dex is zoom That's two That's two Yeah, it's that one there Oh yeah

Oh wait, that's con Plus zero So it's thirteen Thirteen Okay, so roll 3d6 for me Oh, that's damage. I think that's damage dice. You think I'm gonna roll damage dice?

You're such a warrior. She's destroyed the chest. Eight, nine, ten. Ten points. So you watch the sentry takes careful aim. Is it on your right or left? I feel like it's gonna be on my left. On your left?

Yeah, because my right is my bashing arm. So it's underneath the shield. So you kind of like, it's kind of Like bashing arm So it's underneath the shield Yeah So you kind of like It's kind of like It would fire out From under the shield

Yeah If you fire it So you kind of aim that You kind of take careful aim The beam comes out Much larger than Probably you expected You know

Like a four Like Like a super saiyan blast Kind of Smaller than that Mini More like an iron man Sort of like

You know Repulsory. It hits the edge of the safe, blows open a huge, like, it melts through part of the stone, but it also burns away the edge of the safe itself and the door kind of falls open. And Aayla's like, yes! That's amazing!

I believe, I can't remember exactly, I think it's you take, you take six cold damage. Oh! As you feel yourself suddenly freezing cold from firing this weapon. Nova's just stood there with her goggles over her eyes and her notebook just like furiously taking notes. Like a manic smile as well. Yeah, just like thumbs up.

You almost begin to see ice crystals kind of slowly forming up like part of her metal body and stuff like that. Like rubbing my arm like... Fascinating. Crikey. Incredible. I mean... So the safe door is open.

Yeah, it's like blown open. It's carved like a chunk out of the stone wall, creating a hole that you can actually see through. It's a hole like smouldering as well. It's like... Such power. Such responsibility required. Yeah.

Yeah. It's like this big. Yeah, but it's still like a smouldering hole. And it hasn't gone, like, all the way through the stone either. It's gone deep into it, but it's not, like, burnt its way through solid stone. It's not, like, cut a doorway or anything like that how do you feel i feel my arm my arm feels really cold like interesting really cold but that was

exhilarating i like it i mean i'll have to see if i can make some sort of upgrade hmm maybe you know like start sketching does it need an upgrade my god, imagine if we upgraded it to be a bigger blast Oh my goodness Bigger blast means more damage to sentry, that's bad Wait, wait, while your arm is cold put that against the hot chest to cool it

Don't hurt yourself again You can try it That's a terrible idea Put your arm next to it The edge of the safer is glowing. Yeah. But the rest of it seems fine. Okay.

You put your arm close enough to it. You can tell that you probably don't want to touch this thing. Yeah, no, it's far too hot. Okay. Well, when we get back, we will get you as many more places you want. You can probably use the crowbar to just open the rest of the way. Okay. I don't know what's inside then. Okay, so who's looking inside?

I guess Sentry opened the box. I mean, yeah, unless somebody wants to jump in there and look in. I guess I'll run out to take magic. Yeah, you haven't cast it yet. Sure, I can look in if you want. Okay, Aiden's going to look in.

Make it no, it's fine. So inside you see that there is a there is a small wooden box. Looks like the safe must have been airtight because the wood is intact. Looks like a small chest, like a tiny little chest that maybe you'd keep coins in.

Alongside with that is a silver pocket watch with a very beautiful dwarven design. You also see a strange disc with a very thin crystalline top inscribed with arcane runes. It's probably

I'd say about the size of a mug's top. You know, like a small cup. But it's just like a flat metal disc with a crystalline top. And it's got arcane runes on it? Yeah. Okay.

Then what is it? The detect magic spell's worn off, so unless you want to cast it again, because it just takes 10 minutes. How thick is it? Can I do it as a paladin? How thick? Huh?

How thick is it? Yeah, it's probably like a couple of coasters. Coasters thick. Yeah. Mug wide. Two, three coasters thick. This is very... Look, I can't think of a way out.

I'm trying to think of a way. What's that? Like three inch diameter? About 45 pencils wide. A Stroopwafel is a perfect example. Yes, like a Stroopwafel. I really want a Stroopwafel. A bit thicker.

Two Stroopwafels. Maybe like an inch thick or so. Okay. Double Stroopwafel. Nova, do you know anything about this disc can you read runes yeah you're book smart yeah can you read that i can read something very dumb no because i'm literally like you distracted me from writing my notes so i'm like written language yeah looking at this they are arcane rooms

i can read all written languages but this is magic this is runes this is spells oh I can read all written languages, but this is magic. This is runes. This is spells. Oh, are you able to identify the runes? Can I look at the item and see? You can make an arcana check. Make an arcana check for me. Unless you can cast the identify spell, which I know you can't.

It can't because I don't have a pearl. Can I stand over her shoulder and assist her? Sure. Make a... Eight. Fifteen. What can I give her advantage? You can...

Yeah, you would. That'd be the help action, yeah. But I'm going to change it because I don't like the way that works mechanically. You make an arcana check. And if you get over a certain amount... 12. 12.

Yeah, you can roll with advantage. How are you assisting? Well, if you look at this rune from this way... Mansplaining. I said 15 to start with, didn't I? Yeah. Yeah, because I just pinged the dice uh 15 so okay so 15 was the highest and with lucius help yeah looking with lucius and overlooking it you identify some of the runes there's definitely illusion magic this uh device seems to utilize some sort of illusionary magic you also get the sense that it also has the ability to um you get the sense that

it has the ability to do something about maybe recording an image and then displaying it but you're not quite sure how it works you'd probably need to spend time experimenting with it perhaps over a short rest to figure out what it does maybe that's what's in it i don't say that my immersion you said the wooden box is like a coin box yeah you shake it there's coins in it can I see how many coins yeah you open it up there's about 30 coins in it

these are old coins these are pre-sundering coins they're worth they're worth double basically it's 60 golds worth of old coins I hold the disc and I'm like,

do you mind? A silver pocket watch, by the way, anybody I will tell you because this is an art object, it's not a magic item, it's worth about 50 gold. I will take that.

Because it's pure silver. Do you mind if I take this? It seems like some kind of illusionary device and I think if I look at it a bit more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, I might be able

to figure out what it is. It's fascinating, isn't it? It looks like it records information of some kind. If its name has anything along the five letters. Yeah, because that rune there is the rune for image. Is it worth money? Yes. Do I care?

Fascinating. Enjoy, though. I will. Enjoy. I will. I really will. Really happy for you. Anything to take her mind off thinking about upgrading Sentry,

I think is a benefit ah but we should do that though for her well being maybe not we could give sentry a memory upgrade do you think we could find another one

would you know what strap it onto my hammer and then it's really fire laser beam then I can hit someone in the face yes yeah sure let's start that that sounds like something we'll be able to do quiet echoes of your conversation just echo through this empty stone this room this room

seems like a good place to have a nappy uh nappy there's no ghouls there's no corpse or entrails the smells a little bit less. We could sleep here. This place just smells old and dead, like nothing's been here for a long time. It has that stale tomb-like smell of just dust and time that has passed here. The ghouls that were outside, were they dwarfs? They were dwarven-ish. Dwarven-ish, okay. Small. They were small, squat, muscular, but they were warped, deformed. They didn't look like any dwarf you've ever met.

Their limbs were longer, they had claws and fangs, most of their hair had gone. Yeah, no, it was just mainly because if it wasn't, then we hadn't seen any dwarves down here in this dwarven town, then it would have been weird. Okay, don't worry, that's all. I don't say anything. I haven't said anything. Oh, we rest. I think we should. Yeah.

I think we're done here. I'm done here. I really need to, I hold up my hands and I'm like, I really need to get this checked out. Yes.

What is, what? It's a little bit red. What is that? It's slightly inflamed. Like the cuts and things look a bit redder. I just hold up both my hands. I'm like, where I touch the dead things.

Okay, great. Wear some gloves next time. I've got silk ones, but don't use those. Just get your own. Okay. Sorry. It's fine. Daddy would hate me if I got goop all over this.

Well, how much do you think Torvald's going to charge us to fix that entire thing? Torvald? Is that his name? Arval. No, Torval. He was a priest. Oh. He said 300. Oh. For Arval? Yeah. 300 to fix Arval. I don't know how much for this. I don't know what this is.

It's interesting. This might be my own little biology experiment. Okay. Hmm. I admire how calmly you're dealing with it. It's like a disgusting little terrarium. It's like a disgusting little terrarium. It's like a petri dish. Are we taking turns?

Okay, I'll go first. Oh, great. Are you just lying down on the stone floor? I'm going to try and find somewhere comfy. My bedroll. Any cushions? No. Anything that is not stone or metal Has worn into nearly nothing

I'm going to take off my coat Roll it into a little pillow And curl up in a ball Try not to cry Cry a lot Nice Yeah, it is uncomfortable Unpleasant

Ayla is the only one with a bedroll Why am I the only one who's not Because none of them have got None of them bought equipment for travelling I didn't expect it I don't think anybody knows how to Yeah So who is taking watch? Why am I the only one who's not different from Federal in my inventory? None of them bought equipment for travelling. I didn't expect it. So who is taking watch? Are you even taking a watch?

In the interest of recovering lost power, I would prefer not to take watch tonight. I can as long as I, if I can get some You need four hours of like, unawareness you still need to complete eight hours for a long rest to take place. I mean, it's just Four hours you can be like a week. Okay, so you only need four hours of sleeping and then four hours You can be awake, but you can't if you do anything strenuous. You wouldn't count as the man is keeping watch strenuous

No, keeping watch is the light activity. I'll probably go for hours and then your elf your yeah So you need a full eight hours, otherwise this girl don't fly. You can... Very true. I need a full eight hours or this bird can't fly. You can't fly anyway. Can't fly anyway. Really funny, guys.

What do I do with powering down? So I do first watch. So Ayla's going to take first watch. And then... I guess me and Sentry. What, are you sleeping now?la's going to take first watch. And then... I guess me and Century. What, are you sleeping now? I'm going to power, yeah. And then we'll both wake up.

And then we'll both take the second watch. Just keep your arm pointed out. Okay. Uh, so... Nightmare in your sleep. Ayla. Set it off. Can you make a perception check for me, please?

I've been rolling like trash today, so this is great. Eleven. God damn it! Okay. So, you're not even sure what time it is. The darkness seems all-encompassing. As you sit there, just the dim light of your dark vision, this kind of black and grey world,

is the only companion as the rest of them sleep or find themselves in some sort of low-powered state, unmoving. Just the gentle rising and falling of their breaths. You think for a moment that you can hear thunder far in the distance. That slow rumble, but without any lightning and just that dull cacophony of thunder. You feel it somewhere inside you resonating, but then it quickly passes.

Sentry, while you are recharging or depowered, whatever it is for you, there are glimpses, flashes, the memory of the fight against the Feral Guardian, the first time that you've seen one of your kind since apparently all of the entire world had changed. world had changed. There are flashes as you remember experiencing visions, slight memories altered by time. There is a deep sense of something, almost a message. You see the collapsed body of the Feral Guardian, this furnace device, this creature that worked the smiths. And you almost, while you know it's dead, there's a vestige of something there, deep in its matrix. Long degraded, long since past the point of sanity, but there is one sentence that you hear as if you were stood next to it find the prime and when you wake up you can see that your hand your finger is almost worn down the metal in it

as you have scratched find the prime into the stone ground lucius you're the only one that sees this as you come awake and you see Sentry's hand furiously writing something, and then she seems to become aware of it herself. In fact, Ayla, you would see it as well, because obviously you were about to take watch, so the three of you notice that.

No other creatures appear to disturb your watch. Find the pre-may? What does that mean? Have you been asleep? It says find the prime. Oh, prime, yes. Quiet. What does that mean?

I was having a vision and I don't know. I love that you're having this conversation. Why, dear? I'm just going to pass out, thanks. Okay. So Ayla just finds a point. I am too tired.

Flicks the bed roll out. Mmm, lovely and comfy. Blanket. Mmm, snuggles down. Yes, you have a great sleep there. So you try and drift off as, yeah, find a century. Century, what on earth is that? What on Eroeth is that?

I appreciate the fact that Rhiannon is actually scrawling it with, like, a really rough find the rhyme. Good font, though. Is it like a... No, the way the sentry's written is very erratic, as if she was unaware that she was writing it herself. You were aware that you were doing that whilst dreaming, right? I wasn't aware at all. What were you... Do you remember anything?

There's a message. I think we need to go back to the other guardian, perhaps. I saw him in my vision. He told me to find the prime. It's alive? Sorry. I just want to wake him up. So while you guys are having this, Nova,

there is a strange dream. One that you've had sort of before. You are in a dark corridor with green lines all around it, around metal frameworks. A long, slender, dark corridor. At the very end of which, there appears to be a light. Tian Gong, the sword,

hovers in place in the middle of this greenish light that all the green lines seem to feed into. It's reminiscent of the shuttle where you first found him. As you approach, the lights begin to pulse and glow. The Tiangong.

You just feel this sense, another sentence, more words than it's spoken to you. Power. Give me power. And you sense the magical aura of the hammer that the party recovered and this need for Tiangong to feed.

And that's it. That's the dream. Oh my. If there's any more you wanted to talk about, otherwise you will wake up in about eight hours' time. Or four hours' time. If there's anything more you guys wanted to say.

Before the rest of the group wake. I'm happy to go back and look. But what do you think you'll find? The Prime? Maybe a clue. Maybe, I don't know, I believe he's dead. But maybe he has a clue somewhere. Do you know what the prime is?

No idea? No idea. What does the prime mean? You're not sure? You're sure it's not pre-may? I'm sure it's not pre-may. There's no dash above the E there? No, it's definitely...

Oh, it's just a little bit of rock, yes. It's a little bit, yeah. Yes, you scuffed it a bit. It's not the latest. I mean, you did have your eyes closed, I'll give you that. All right, we'll find the Prime then. Until then, I'll make sure no more ghoulies come and attack us. I'll take this watch and you stand in front.

So essentially you want to go out to the body of the Guardian? Yeah. Okay. You make your way out, the rest of the others are all asleep. Wait, where are you going to go out to the body of the Guardian? Yeah. Okay. You make your way out. The rest of the others are all asleep. Wait, where are you going? I don't know. You have to use Echo to basically lead your way in the darkness.

But you eventually make your way to this large open space with a collapsed column that had eventually fallen on it. And you look down at the remnants of this creature, and you can see that the Guardian, yeah, a large furnace was built into it. You can see the arm that has been removed where Nova took the new weapon that you have. But it's just lifeless. There is no glow in its eye.

Its singular eye doesn't glow. The remnant of its echo, this kind of sphere, this pure metal sphere just beside it. Lifeless. Can I maybe try and open it up somehow? Yeah, give me an investigation check. Okay. 20.

20. So you begin pulling apart, like opening up the guardian itself, trying to access its matrix or something. You pull apart this thick... It probably takes you four hours. You don't get to complete a long rest because of this. You literally get that axe and you're wedging open parts of its metal body, pulling apart these plates,

hacking at the wood that encovers its entire matrix until eventually you get at this solid crystal core, this blackened, now blackened crystal. And you can see that the crystal itself is cracked and dented. There is a horrid miasma inside it, almost like a series of veins or tree roots that kind of spread up through the crystal itself you don't see any writing you don't see any it doesn't have any personal possessions just the crystal itself can i take the crystal out try and prise it through so when you reach

in and your hand touches its matrix which as far as you're concerned is basically akin to your heart your soul as soon as it touches it you do get another flash of another memory okay this one of another guardian's face it's in the chasm the same chasm that you are in now outside the blacksmiths this guardian descended from the sky and you feral guardian that you are now seeing its memories of looked up. At first it was wary, but then the guardian spoke in a language you don't understand and repeated it and said,

we'll find a way. We must find the prime. And then that's the memory that you get, this other guardian. And this other guardian is resplendent. It's metal, it's not silver or steel, but gold. It has these luminescent glowing wings almost, but they're not the same shape as bird's wings.

These almost seem to be blades of energy that sprout from its back. It has a large circular disc behind its head and it carries with it a long spear carved with a brilliantly shiny ethereum metal tip. And when it lands, yeah, this

feral guardian, this blacksmith guardian, just seemed to see it as a sign. It didn't see it as a threat. It saw it as a savior. And it just had this thing of like, we must find the prime So cool Mark Oh my god

And yeah so you So Lucius Sentry doesn't return Face crack there Over the four hours I'm going to start prodding everybody Wake up It's a problem A slight problem

Where's Sentry? What's going on? Is she okay? She's wandered off, actually Why would you let her wander off? She's a big, big robot I know she can take care of herself But still, you could have woken one of us Where did she go?

So Quillik runs off She probably went to the backspace guardians So Nova and Lucius are left You instantly run out and Where did she go? So Quillik runs off. I'm going to follow him. She probably went to the backsmith's guardian. So Nova and Lucius are left. You instantly run out and it's very obvious. You see her as literally Sentry the last, as you pull your hand away, this kind of fresh memory in your mind. Quillik, you see Sentry in front of the feral

guardian, having ripped parts of it away, and now Sentry just stands there. I'm almost going to stand in front of her and push her backwards away from the feral guardian and like what you are i'm gonna say i try you don't want him to you could no that's fine okay so century just goes with it she just kind of takes a few steps back what's happening what's going on we must we've got to find the prime we'll find a way we'll find the prime find the prime what prime find the prime what way we've got to find the

prime century what's the prime i don't i don't know we've got to find the prime. What way? We've got to find the prime. Sentry, what's the prime? I don't know. We've got to find the prime. I don't know. Is this the prime? No, no, the prime. I don't know. It came down.

It was golden. It was... I don't know. We've got to find it. I don't... Okay, hang on. Where did you hear about this thing? It was in a vision when I don't... Okay, hang on. Where did you hear about this thing? It was...

I... It was... It was in a vision when I was powering down and the... This Guardian here is... Oh my god, he's such a mess! This Guardian here... Um... He...

He told me to find the Prime and then I went to... Fine, I went to see... Hang on. This Feral Guardian... Sentry, this Guardian isn't sane. No. No, but he... I went to find... This feral guardian? This guardian isn't sane. No. No, but he sent me a message and I went to see if he maybe had a clue to the Prime. Wait, it's still alive?

No, no, it's definitely... I think it's definitely dead. I think... Oh, well. But its core is its soul, so I went to its core to maybe see if it had any more information about the Prime, and it showed me a vision of this golden guardian. It was huge, and it came down from the sky, and it said, we will find a way, we'll find the Prime.

It came down from the sky? It's crazy, it came from the sky. It flew? It could fly, it was flying. It was golden. It was like a god, like what you would call a god. Is this what happens when guardians get a little bit older and they start to... Is it happening? Is it happening? I really don't want to think about it like that, but...

Sentry, I think it's safer if you try your best to put it from your mind. But I saw it. It was there. Can I wander across? Yeah, so yeah, Nova, I'm guessing you two. I'm probably trailing out, because I probably heard the word prime and started thinking about prime numbers. Everybody except Century completed a long rest.

You guys can all mark a long rest. Century, sadly, you did not finish the last four hours. So you all get the benefits of a long rest. And we don't do reset maximum HP. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Reset maximum HP. A couple. You're one HP.

He's been on one HP for the whole, like... Is that why he was doing that? I'm so tired. Yes, exactly why I was doing that. So, yeah, you make your waiver, and you can see Sentry, no emotion on the face, but her voice clearly upset, concerned, uncertainty, which you've not really seen from Sentry yet, this panic.

Quill and Aayla trying to calm her down, but yeah. You just hear this need to find the Prime. Quill, I'm surprised in you. Listen to her voice. She's upset, and you're telling her to not believe it? Oh no, I'm not saying don't believe it. I'm just wary of, you know, if this guardian has attacked

us for starters, it's clearly not, well, of the right mind. If this thing is telling her things, I'm just worried about what it is telling her. But it's a memory. It's what he saw. How do we know that?

Did you see it in your dream or did you do something else? I saw... I saw... Where did you see this golden guardian? I saw the golden guardian through this one's memory. I will make just one thing clear for everybody. Even with your expertise in science, guardian stuff, nobody knows how it works. Just to clarify as a point of the world,

that's the whole point is that nobody understands how Guardians work. It could be that that's how Matrixes can pass on this kind of information. It could be that this is a sign of degradation, like literally like as if somebody's hallucinating. But just to make it clear, only Sentry has an idea of even vaguely how they work. So I don't want people to think that that's certainly... You got it from that thing that you ripped open. I got it from him.

So his core is like his soul. Like, mine is my soul. Like when I touched Hit's Echo and I saw a flash of... Yeah. I could touch the Matrix. It's connected to our cores. So like you would say your soul, that's what makes us. Do you want me to touch it?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No? No. No touchy? No, no, no, no, no. But he said something last time. That's true. I'm just worried it might be dangerous.

Do you want me to touch it? I don't mind. Did it hurt? It doesn't hurt, but I'm just worried that I'm not, this one isn't like me, you know. I'm certain of myself, but I'm not certain of this one. I see. So how can you be certain?

Sayla touches it. Nothing happens. It just feels like cold... I'd be like, no, no! But she touches it and there just doesn't seem to be any reaction. Let's just... Hold on. Let's think about this for a second. Lucius, you touched Echo, and what did you see?

I saw its last memories of it, the whole cavern caving in and fire and brimstone and black. You remember, Nova, you tried, but you didn't get anything. No, sorry, I said Echo. You touched the other one, didn't you? Yeah, both of them are called Echo. Okay. Can I touch Echo?

Yeah, you touch Echo. Just ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Feels like metal. No response. So if we use that as a line of thought, then Sentry touching this matrix from this feral guardian, you can only assume that you also saw its memories. I believe that's what happened, yeah.

And there wasn't any fire and there wasn't the blacksmiths? No, no, it't the blacksmiths? No, no, it was the blacksmiths. It was from, like, through his eyes, so I was seeing what he was seeing. And he saw this golden guardian. Let's just touch it, touch it, touch it. I'm worried the sentry's very concerned about me getting hurt, and I really don't want to get hurt.

I know, but you're not in tune with the magical side of things like I am. So, I mean, I will, but I need permission from Century. Okay, well, it might help if somebody else can see. Because at the moment, I mean... I'm kind of concerned that people are making judgments on you, essentially, and this could help alleviate that. Okay, well, you can, okay, well, I'm sorry if something happens to you. Well, you'll get me up, won't you?

Here we go. I don't know any. Make a charisma saving throw for me, please, Lucius. Okay. 17 plus 3, 20. When you touch it, this is not the same as when you touched echo directly touching this crystal you immediately feel this overwhelming sensation matt like mad thoughts just garbled information words that don't mean anything begin to spring to mind, you probably catch the word prime, but then you immediately know to let go before your mind is just overwhelmed by

whatever has happened to this crystal, whatever has happened to this matrix that Sentry calls it. I mean, this thing was beyond saving. this thing was mad um and that madness threatened to overwhelm you but you managed to kind of pull your hand away before it dealt any damage to your psyche but you definitely heard the word prime in amongst all this garbled like speech are you okay just need a bit of deep breath. Did it hurt? Did it hurt you? I don't know how you had tolerated it. It's just overwhelming. That was everything all at once, a coffee of madness. And did you see this golden guardian?

No, but I heard the word prime. I definitely heard the word prime. But it was definitely, absolutely, 100% insane. So that didn't overwhelm you, did it? You didn't get this, all this at once. I just got what he saw. I just got his vision, what he saw. You're definitely not...

No. Absolutely. I'm sure I am. I'm sure I'm sound of mind. When this guardian called out to you, what voice did you hear it in? Was it different to when we heard it yelling at us before? It was...

No, I believe it was the same voice. It was his voice. OK. But was it calm? Was it serene? Was it... Light begins to just drift down from the top of the chasm. Having moved back to the blacksmiths, there is light coming down from above like an early morning sun, perhaps, beginning to filter down. Since we're not going to get any more information from him, shall we go?

The reality is we're not going to find anything else down here. Sentry, we can discuss it over some warm plates. How does that sound? That sounds really good. Yeah. Warm plates all around. As a curiosity, can you write? Yeah, yes, I can, yeah.

Did you not see the stonework? I suggest I hand out my notebook, write down exactly what you saw here. Then we have a log of it, and if it happens again, we can compare, we can add. That's a good way to get things out as well. It might help clear your mind and go over what you saw. That's a good idea, yeah. I'll do that. I'll take it and I'll start writing things down.

Okay. What's the rest of you doing? Well, we have two climbers kits and I can levitate. That sounds like you're heading up there with the rope. But what do we suggest? Because last time I did this, as I pointed out, not very strong, didn't really do a great job of doing the thing into the rock. Can you make someone else levitate? No. Yes, you can. Yes.

Do you want me to do it? Levitate, you can actually just point at somebody. It's a racial thing, isn't it? Yeah. It's the spell, though. You can just cast the spell, and as part of the spell, you can levitate an object or a person. It's a really useful spell. Okay. I could make Ayla levitate. Or Sentry. Sentry's strong too.

Sentry's distracted. So I should probably do it. But we need someone strong. I would prefer not go into the air until I'm absolutely ready to, thank you very much. Okay. Okay, so you're going to cast levitate on Ayla. Levitate Ayla

up to the top, just the other way. And I'll give her one of the climber packs as well. Okay, can you make an athletics check for me Ayla? Don't forget to pick up the rope that's on the floor And take it with you. You're gonna be in the climbers kit. Yeah Climbers kit, pitons, rope. I've been rolling really badly today so this is... Fifteen. Fifteen. Okay, so Aayla goes up. She hammers pitons into the cliff edge, into the chasm wall. Why don't you hide?

Goes all the way up the top. Ties it all off. Just nodding. And then you descend the rope down. You're probably just thinking about flying. Ready for anybody to basically climb up. You are now at the top. It is morning.

There is a slight chill in the air, as it is the beginning of the long night, the wintry period for Eros. And, yeah, who wants to make the first check to climb up the rope? Well, well, birdie boy. This is your moment. This is my moment? Well, me first? Well, I'm being

generous, really, because you went on the rope when everybody else had already been on it. Oh, good point. I really wouldn't like to fall again. Ayla? Yeah? Did you... Plus I'm making sure that the actual thing is stable,

so if it falls, I can redo it. Okay. Well, in that case, and I'll grab one arm on the rope, two talons into the rock, and I just... Yeah, this is hard going. It's disadvantage. Athletics with disadvantage for you. Okay.

I mean, couldn't someone help him? Can I just yeah, this is hard going it's disadvantage athletics with disadvantage for you, okay? Well, you should tell me you want to use your inspiration So he Begins to pull himself up, but I mean you scramble down You don't take any damage You just can't find the purchase to get up this rope on your own It's going to be really tough for you to do it Sentry, maybe you could go underneath him and scooch him up You can try that Yeah, would you like to sit on my shoulders, Quill?

Absolutely So, athletics check I will give you a penalty for carrying quite heavy weight But it won't be disadvantage I'll be helping Could I in a way So you make another athletics check with disadvantage Could I in a way like

You want to try and pull them up I'm still levitate I think it only lasts a minute Check the spell description If it lasts an hour, then yes, you can I need to actually look up levitate. You should just be able to click on it. No, just put up member with the wind.

Minus one for disadvantage. No, you roll again and take the load. No, you don't have disadvantage. What was your total? There was 18 the first one. Six. Ten minutes. Okay, so ten minutes.

You have enough time to go and get... Can I go and help Quill? Yeah, sure. Okay, so ten minutes. Okay, you have enough time to go and get, like, you can go down and help Quill. Can I go and help Quill? Yeah, sure. I'll help Quill. Okay, so with that, just give me an athletics check, just to see. 16. Okay, so Quill is the only one you'll be able to help, because by the time you've gone up, secured the rope, gone down,

got Quill, taken him back up, that's the spell's going to have gone by that point. So Ayla levitates down, basically grabs onto Quill to make sure he doesn't fall off and then helps take most of his weight as he pulls himself up. Essentially, you just climb up the rope on your own, no problem. You manage to assail it. It's tiring

work. Anybody who climbs, you have a level of exhaustion by the time you reach the top because you're going up a 250 foot climb. There are points where you can stop, but it's hard going. Is there a way level of exhaustion by the time you reach the top you're going up uh a 250 foot climb there are points where you can stop but it's hard going is there a way that i can sort of pull on the rope as one of them is climbing the problem is because it's such a long thing it's like 250 feet they're having to use the pitons to tie the rope off to make sure that they can climb up it properly can i just keep checking the pitons then and make sure that they're not sure that they've you seem to have

secured them secure they're not going to come loose this time you've actually secured them in fully so it's just Nova and Lucius that are left well well well Nova

do you mind if I go I'm not very strong that's fine if I fall can you catch me I'll give it thank you bye

that'd be good okay off you go so athletics check please that minus two strength ho ho if only someone Um, I'll give it a... Thank you, bye. That'll be good. Okay, off you go. It's an athletic check, please. That minus two strength. Ho, ho. If only someone could guide me. He's up.

He's gone. Oh, my God. Natural one. I'll catch you. Okay. I don't even make it up the rope, do I? No, so you do, because otherwise you're just going to be stuck down in this chasm forever, and that's not very fun.

However, climbing up is exhausting for you. You constantly have to stop. There is probably a moment where you almost lose your grip. Let me have a look at your character sheet. Would you like to just see it here? Yeah, if you just want to pass it over to me now, rather than me going into D&D Beyond. Do-do-do, what's me going into D&D Beyond. What's in your inventory?

Oh, no. Lots of stuff. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Loads of this stuff's going. Just a heavy Ethereum core. Yeah. Leave that thing alone. It's meant to be really heavy.

I'm not sure how we still got that. Yeah. Okay. So as you're climbing up, you're're basically gonna drop a bag of stuff like a ton of like things like you you've got a pound of iron ore inkwell quills hey i'm not leaving my quills lanterns yep all of this stuff is gonna go uh i won't most of your rations will fall out i won't take anything which has like considerable, like the Ethereum dagger or the thing. Is this all falling onto me?

It's spilling out, and things like the ink well falls out and smashes all over the ground. Oh my god, can it hit me in the face? It just splashes on the thing. It doesn't hit me in the face. You got the natural one. Yeah, you didn't get the natural one. It splashes on your clothes.

And I'd probably say that you've got two, like, two levels of exhaustion rather than one. But I'll go through your gear and lose a bunch of it. Exhaustion and conditions. Mm-hmm. Just tap it and then scroll up. And yeah, so Nova does make her way up, but takes considerable amount of time. Oh, that is familiar.

I've made a decision. We're going to start training because this is just... You need some strength. This is just, it can't happen. Just like words don't even happen. I know you're not listening. Everybody up there, I've got a brilliant idea. It's really hard to hear him.

Can you hear me? It's so much nicer when you can barely hear him. I've got an idea. So all of you grab the rope and I'll tie it around my waist and you could just pull me up. No! Also, the rope is pit-on'd into the wall. You would have to be pulling the pit-ons out.

Oh. They can't just pull you up. Never mind. Did anyone leave a climber's kit for me? No. You would have to be pulling the pitons out. Oh. They can't just pull you up. Nope. Never mind. Did anyone leave a climber's kit for me? No. Excellent. Wait. A first check, please.

Would I have... No, because I... Nova's going with her. Five. Yeah, you... Can I get you one to climb up, and then I have the other one? Same thing happens to you,

in that the climb is exhausting, things are kind of tumbling out your bag they smash all over the ground um again daddy's briefcase no you can keep daddy's briefcase but i'll probably go through your gear and you'll probably lose a bunch of stuff maybe some gold probably for you it'd be more like coins spilling out okay so you're gonna lose some gold and yeah down there another level of exhaustion i'm probably just throwing the banks off to like lighten the load because money is so heavy I think that that makes sense

it's such a good idea by now I needed the climbers kit though so could I have thrown that you did need the climbers kit because you needed to put the pit on oh right

I had the second one yeah gotcha gotcha so it might have fallen out on him in the face so yeah so with that you all managed

to make your way to the very top of the chasm exhausted tired and still with a day's travel back to Rosefall so yeah so with that you all managed to make your way to the very top of the chasm exhausted tired and still with a day's travel back to Rosefall but you have managed

to make your way up to the top hey thank you for listening to this episode of the podcast also thank you to everyone that has been trying out

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